# Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

I've really been looking forward to trying this. I love Escudo and I've seen many reviews that compare it to Escudo. It is a much less expensive bulk so it would be great if it was similar and I could buy a lot of this and stretch my stock of Escudo a bit. I love Black Cavendish and the BC center seemed like an interesting addition to a VAPer. I finally ordered some and bought 8oz of the stuff. I had some really high hopes for this tobacco.

Well, it is nothing like Escudo, and I'm not sure if it was quite what I expected. However, it was absolutely incredible. I have had a few bowls so far today, as of now it is definitely going on my favorites list. Even at 2 or 3 times the price I would be keeping this stuff in stock, it is every bit as good as $10-15 a tin tobaccos, and it is only $2-4/oz (depending upon where you buy it and in what quantity). At those prices I think I'll be stocking this stuff by the pound. So, on to the review...

When I got the bag I had one disappointment. In every picture I've seen of it online they are nice solid, well defined coins. Most of the coins are broken, the Black Cavendish center is intact, but much of the VA and perique surrounding it is not. No big deal, just a minor issue, especially when that is my _only_ complaint about this tobacco.

Open the bag, and the olfactory senses are awakened. Wow, this stuff smells good! Some characteristic Virginia hay smells, some citrus, some spice, and even a nice herbal or tea-like smell. It smells "bright".

For my first, and subsequent bowls, I packed it in the bowl of my new Peterson Harp 107 rolling it up using the musketball/cannonball method. I used 2-2 1/2 flakes filling about 2/3 of the bowl. As seen in the visual presentation, they aren't the most solid flake, so you do have to be careful if you don't want them to break up too loosely.

Light the pipe and, Nirvana. It is hard to describe the tobacco. It is definitely a VAPer so it has a nice natural sweetness, a little citrus, and some spice to it, but the Black Cavendish adds another layer. I'd almost describe it as creamy, it is definitely sweet and very aromatic (though it is not an aromatic tobacco- I do not think it has any heavy casings or toppings). The three tobaccos blended very well, none really seemed to overpower the others. The smell is divine (I smoked it in the car so I got a good sense of the smell). It is a nice medium flavored and bodied tobacco, with a very mellow character. I could smoke it all day. As a fan of both aromatics and non-aros, I think it really could please an aromatic fan or a hard core non-aromatic smoker equally.

Is it my favorite? It is one of my favorites. Depending upon my mood I might pick Escudo or MacBaren Vanilla Flake. It is definitely in a totally different category than SL, Penzance, Frog Morton, or Perfection. However, I have no problem mentioning it up there with those tobaccos. I can tell I will be going through a lot of this stuff. I may want to buy an entire box (24oz) soon.


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for the great review Jeff! I just had a delivery with 4 ounces of this blend in it & I will be smoking some with your notes in mind so as to educate my pipers palate. :banana:


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

I do need to add to my review. I don't recall thinking "tea" when smoking it and thinking about the flavors. However, in addition to the pouch note having a tea smell to it, the aftertaste has some tea to it too. It is a bit over an hour after I finished my last bowl, and I do have a distinct taste of black tea in my mouth. Definitely a little different, and very enjoyable. I'm thinking about lighting up another bowl


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## Natedogg (Jun 21, 2010)

Great review.

LBF has become my favorite. So much so that I am getting rid of the variety in my cellar and I'm going to stock up on LBF.

I wouldn't say it tastes like Escudo because it doesn't, but it has that same richness and body to it, which is why I like it as much as Escudo. I do have both in my cellar though because of the flavor differences. I noticed age tones down the Cavendish a bit and the rest gets richer.


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## DahlKen (Jun 16, 2011)

I find myself smoking this one alot also. After getting a small sample in a NPS trade I immediately ordered me up 8oz and find myself puffing atleast 2 bowls a day. Although it isn't go to smoke, it is very high in my daily rotation.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Hurray for LBF!! It’s one of only two tobaccos I’ve reordered so far, the other being a tin of Bob’s Chocolate Flake which is on the way. There are others I will be adding to the regular rotation once they run out, but I got four ounces of LBF a while back, smoked it, and IMMEDIATELY ordered another half pound of it with my next shipment.

The weekend is nearly upon me, and that’s when I have the most time for the pipe. I think you might have just talked me into a bowl of LBF later tonight.


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## JD11 (Aug 21, 2008)

I'm glad I added some to my last order...


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

When you guys stock up, try to set some aside for at least 6mo or 12mo. It will improve dramatically over time, it will darken and develop a wonderful pineapple aroma. Smoothes out a lot as well.


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

FYI, I have access to a pound of this if anyone's interested. (I hope it's still available.) Just pm me if you're interested.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

CWL said:


> When you guys stock up, try to set some aside for at least 6mo or 12mo. It will improve dramatically over time, it will darken and develop a wonderful pineapple aroma. Smoothes out a lot as well.


I had a feeling it might age nicely. I'm glad I have two big jars of it right now. I'm smoking one and leaving the other one alone for a while.


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

you guys have no mercy on the weak. Here I stand with no tobacco budget for the near future grrrrr.
I need to revisit LBF, since I fell in love with Escudo hehehe
troy


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Jeff10236 said:


> When I got the bag I had one disappointment. In every picture I've seen of it online they are nice solid, well defined coins. Most of the coins are broken, the Black Cavendish center is intact, but much of the VA and perique surrounding it is not. No big deal, just a minor issue, especially when that is my _only_ complaint about this tobacco.


I hear you, though. The Luxury Twist Flake I ordered doesn't look at all like the flakes I had...crap, it's been a year and a half ago, I think. The centers aren't even well defined, and the square is kind of shaggy.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

CWL said:


> When you guys stock up, try to set some aside for at least 6mo or 12mo. It will improve dramatically over time, it will darken and develop a wonderful pineapple aroma. Smoothes out a lot as well.


Very True, I remember when I first tried it I wasn't terribly impressed (although at the time I was smoking a lot of heavy latakia blends). Well I had put it in a jar and forgot about it until recently The jar now has 2 years on it and man it this stuff good... I just wish I had more... I only have about enough left for one bowl full... I guess I have to order more


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Hmm, my experience last night and the comments above have me thinking about stocking up on this and making it one of my bulk tobaccos. I hadn't opened the LBF jar in a while and when I did last night the smell was already getting more of a nice deep bread crust aroma and had already started to darken in color, the taste was even better than the first couple of times I tried it. Great, now I have to add a pound to my next order go find some more jars...

Thanks, thanks a lot guys!!


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Yeah, I think I'll buy about a pound and a half and put at least half of it away for 2012. This stuff is really good already. VA's and VAPers are known for being a lot better with some age. Man, what is it going to be like in 6mo or a year? I can't wait to find out (but I guess I'll have to).


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

I asked about this in another thread, but it seems appropriate here as well. WV SmokeShop has it for $47.49 for 1.5 lbs. That is the best price I have seen yet.


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Nick S. said:


> I asked about this in another thread, but it seems appropriate here as well. WV SmokeShop has it for $47.49 for 1.5 lbs. That is the best price I have seen yet.


Man! Grab that! $2/oz is a great price!

Jeff, forget my pm.....we'll let that pound sit a while till it becomes scarce again!


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

owaindav said:


> we'll let that pound sit a while till it becomes scarce again!


Does this tobacco have availability issues? Also, how does it compare to Luxury Twist Flake?


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

Nick S. said:


> Does this tobacco have availability issues? Also, how does it compare to Luxury Twist Flake?


It had availability issues when the new Dunhill came out. It's made at the Orlik factory like Dunhill is now. I was able to talk to Erik Stokkebye at a pipe event I went to and that's the low down I was given.

Now that Dunhill has caught up to demand (for the most part) other blends made there may not have as big of an issue as they had in the past.

LBF was my first Luxury series that I smoked. It was also my first va/per. I absolutely loved it. The black cavendish gives it that extra little sweetness that I enjoy.

I'll be honest though, after having tried the LTF, I have to say that I think I like it better. It really depends on my mood. If it means anything to you, I have more LTF aging than I do LBF.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

Ok, thanks. I will have to pick some up when I make my next order.


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

owaindav said:


> Man! Grab that! $2/oz is a great price!
> 
> Jeff, forget my pm.....we'll let that pound sit a while till it becomes scarce again!


I hear ya'. Ignore my PM then


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## Blue Raccoon (Mar 13, 2011)

PS and Boswell are my 'go-to' brands. the Bullseye and proper english from PS and Aero's from Bos.


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

No tasting notes to add--Jeff did a fantastic job.

CWL's aged sample of LBF had me searching all over for similar Cavendish blends. What I learned is that Black Cav isn't necessarily an aromatic. Sure, there are tons of "Black Cavendish" blends out there that are goopy with vanilla or cherry. But that's not always the case. I've found only a few blends that used unsweetened Cav. Two come to mind. . .

Germain's Royal Jersey (Va/Cav)
Solani White & Black (Va/Syrian/Cav)

Figure some others enamored with LBF and it's Cavendish center might enjoy the recommendations.


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## Trout Langston (Dec 1, 2011)

Currently smoking my way through the entire Peter Stokkebye bulk portfolio and wanted to chime in on this one. Absolutely one of my favorites. I love Esudo as well, but I actually like LBF better. The cavendish seems to deepen the flavor a bit. It does seem to be maturing a bit in the mason jar I keep it in, which to me brings out a hint more of the perique. Overall one of the more unique looking and tasting tobaccos I've tried. Found myself wondering what it would be like with a bit of maduro cigar leave in the blend...


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